Star Trek: The Next Generation 3.3

This one opens with a mystery. And a compelling mystery it is. A planet’s population has been wiped out, but there are two survivors… How? Why?

In order for this story to work, the viewer has to be puzzled at the start and - more difficult - satisfied at the end. With this as a yardstick, the episode is a success. The reveal at the end is sad and memorable.
John Anderson‘s performance makes it work. Makes you care.

Picard is slightly ahead of his crew on this one. Without guessing exactly what is going on, he is still able to out-maneuver whatever working against them. That’s fun to watch.

Troi gets a b-story that goes nowhere. It merely serves to punctuate the actions in the a-story. She is sick, somehow affected by the planet, but other than giving Picard a valid reason to stick around, this storyline serves no purpose whatsoever.